Brockton wins thriller to take soccer sectional; state semifinals next

By Scott Roche, Enterprise Correspondent

Saturday

Nov 11, 2017 at 9:48 PMNov 13, 2017 at 1:19 PM

Daniel Andrade broke a scoreless tie seven minutes into the second half as the Boxers captured their second South Sectional title in the three years with a 1-0 win over Needham at Dennis O'Brien Field.

WHITMAN — All season long, teams have tried anything they can think of to slow down the explosive Brockton boys soccer team.

Saturday night in the Division 1 South Sectional final at Whitman-Hanson High School, 11th-seeded Needham tried dropping back eight players defensively to frustrate the top-seeded Boxers.

The ploy worked through the first half, but as it has all season long, Brockton was able to adjust to the Rockets’ formations in the second half.

Daniel Andrade broke a scoreless tie seven minutes into the second half as the Boxers captured their second South Sectional title in the three years with a 1-0 win over Needham at Dennis O’Brien Field.

Brockton (19-1-2) will play North Sectional champion St. John’s Prep (19-0-3) in a state semifinal on Tuesday at Brockton High School at 7:15 p.m.

“Needham gave us a great fight tonight and this is something we needed,’’ Brockton coach Herminio Furtado said. “The confidence we have, I hope it continues. We can play pretty and win and we can play ugly and win. We have been preparing for this since August and all the hard work the kids have put in is paying off so far.’’

Brockton finally broke through against Needham (12-8-4) keeper Andrew McNally in the 47th minute when Edson Lopes was sent down the left side and sent a cross that McNally tipped off the crossbar, only to have Andrade chest the ball into an open net.

“We knew that Brockton was very dangerous on offense, but we’re very good on defense,’’ said Needham coach Jimmy Odierna. “Our keeper has been very good all year and we knew if we could keep the game close, we would have a chance to win, which we did, but Brockton is great team and to lose them one this stage is nothing to hang your head about.’’

Needham nearly opened the scoring less than a minute into the second half when Matthew Dougherty took a shot that Brockton keeper Fabio Andrade got his hand on, but the ball rolled toward an open net and was cleared by Brockton defender Derick Dipina before the ball rolled across the line.

Brockton had several chances to increase its lead, with the best opportunity coming in the 69h minute when Odair Monteiro ran on to a cross, but his shot hit the crossbar.

Brockton, which had five corner kicks in the opening 20 minutes, carried the play in the first half and nearly got on the board in the 17th minute. Junior Gomes headed a cross that McNally (12 saves) stopped and then stopped the rebound attempt of Leonardo Teixeira.

Needham’s best chance of the first half came in the 21st minute when Steve Donovan snuck behind the Boxers defense, only to have Fabio Andrade (five saves) stop Donovan’s shot at point-blank.

“Fabio has been great in the back,’’ Furtado said. “He gives us leadership back there and the maturity for his age is awesome. He knows when to come out and challenge and he knows when to stay back.’’

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